He has the same dream every night. It starts with martins, just as it has started in reality: one moonless dark night he went out to the balcony to have some rest after his long paper-work, and he saw rabid flickering in the skies. There were thousands and thousands of martins over there!

Then he heard subdued distant rumbling.

He seized the fence – and that moment he felt a sudden trembling!

It was the first shock – the weakest one which was fatal for the world. Bungoore nas Lahdree remained on this feet, but he started worrying.

- Honey? – Shideh called him from the room – Did you feel it? As if something…

He just turned back to go and reassure her and the child-girl… and then with the corner of his eye he noticed the sky changing. As if the dense black velvet was generously splashed over by sparkling paints.

“Or as if, - he thought getting cold with horror, - a shining sword has been stuck into”.

Nas Lahdree understood too well what that meant. After all, for many years he has been working for one of Lahrden’s supreme priest; and now he also was outside of his own country completing his mission: he was looking for fragments of power stones, which…

No, no, no way! It is in his night-dream – this long slow soul-torturing dream – he can think over, recall and live once again not only that night, but all his past life too! But at that time as he stood at the balcony looking at the light spreading over the sky, the only thing Bungoore could do was silently appeal to Lahrden: “Oh, the wisest! Save… “

And he even couldn’t complete the prayer!

Another fiery sword stretched out (this time it was back from the sky to the earth) and went into the earth, just as a ram goes into lop-sided shattered gates. Bungoore was nearly deafened by the rattle; the second blow threw him down. For a long moment that had been lasting for ages (or was this just in his night-dream?.. – he can’t remember) nas Lahdree saw the bright scarlet sky, and the [martins] rushing about against its background.

Then another sword entered the earth.

“Oh, omni-gracious Lahrd…”

And another one! And one more!..

Somewhere in a distant place, hundreds lives away, thousands steps away Shideh screamed, and then the scream suddenly stopped.

It seemed the house had been tossed up, as if a giant silly little child with bad temper made up his mind to discover without fail what exactly was inside this two-storied toy and how the dolls inside are arranged.

For a moment the sky became unbearably close, then it became dim as falling rocks continued to rattle unceasingly…

Nas Lahdree seemed to have come to consciousness almost straight away. Something heavy was lying on this left foot, but he felt no pain: he opened his eyelids sprinkled with crumbs of stone. He shook his head to dispel the mist before his eyes, but the mist was everywhere: it accumulated in dust puffs, crawled out from distant hills that could be seen from here – from the yard, even if you lie on the ground next to your house’s ruins.

The mist was everywhere. And flaming swords and thousands of distracted [martins] in the sky.

And rattles, and cracking of fire, and desperate screams somewhere far away.

The house he and Shideh rented as they moved to this town was located in the outskirts, and this fact saved nas Lahdree. In panic that has gripped the entire town right after the first fissures occurred, Bungoore would have been definitely trampled down. Or he might have been torn to pieces after the first wave of fear has let up, after awareness appeared they everything happened in the north, in the Etreions’ country. Therefore, the Etreions are to be blamed.

(Strange enough it may seen, those self-appointed executioners of the first days after the Great Collapse were right. When they threw the last Etreions into fire and cut their heads off, as they beat to death with stones and threw down from cliffs those Etreions who happened to be outside their country while the disaster occurred – those justice-makers were just venting their horror. And still, they were right.

Nas Lahdree could only suppose how many stone-getters like himself those who really had helped to arrange the Collapse have been killed this way and sent forever to the spectral world. It would sometimes occur to him it would have been much better if he had been found by avengers the same night…)

He was lying insensitive to anything: to pain, to the world, and to his own destiny. He thought that all in all it must have been fair – the things that have just happened to him. To him just as to all the Etreions.

Such thoughts might seem to be blasphemy; just a couple of days ago it would have never occurred to him. There were the reasons for the Etreions to consider themselves the best of Ragnesis nations. Their country called Rantayol was abundant and was situated in the very center of the world. Everybody envied the Etreions: the Bushtargs did because they lived in droughty and desert areas; the Giltaries envied because it was only the Etreions who have been visited by their creator after the Celestials left and ceased helping their nations; the Saihens were jealous because Rantayol’s treasuries were incommensurably richer then anything that could be gathered in the towns of Aonannis; and the Faldorts envied because knowledge of the Etreions about the world’s innermost secrets was much deeper than the knowledge of the wisest of Skullurg’s inhabitants. All of them envied the Etreions! (Or, maybe – he though while lying under the balcony’s ruins – it was the Etreions who supposed that other Ragnesis’ erlanies envy them?..)

That was the beginning. Seeds of today’s disaster have been sown back then, because the Etreions (why being insincere?) became self-confident and hard-hearted; they despised other erlanies and considered them to be not bright and too primitive…

And some Etreions finally wished to become as powerful and as sovereign as the Celestials – the powerful creatures who traveled between worlds and who once occurred in Ragnesis to change it and to implant new living beings there…

Actually, the tale of the Celestials’ arrival was not really simple and clear. In their talks they have slightly disclosed the mystery of their first years in Ragnesis to those whom they have created and whom they called “erlanies” which in their language meant “those who bring liberation”. But those stories were full of lacunas and omissions.

According to the Celestials, in the old days Ragnesis used to be different: it was a world of wind-dried canyons and sharp peaks, a world populated by strange blood-thirsty beasts that kept fighting with each other. Among them only an’leh-Dahrgs had rudimentary intellect; and mor’leh-Gharrs were intellectual creatures that also had magical abilities.

When the Celestials descended to Ragnesis, as the fate has willed they found themselves in the very center of an’leh-Dahrgs’ den, and those creatures managed to kill several of the strangers. But just in a couple of moments the Celestials made the return blow: a huge blade of light they generated not only tore the entire pack of an’leh-Dahrgs’ into peaces, but it also made giant furrow at the bottom of the canyon and caused a small earthquake…

This was the beginning of war between the Celestials and the masters of primeval Ragnesis – the war which had been lasting for several years and finished by nearly complete annihilation of both an’leh-Dahrgs and mor’leh-Gharrs. However in the last decisive battles the splash of magical energy was so great that it caused Ragnesis split into two pieces. A smaller part got detached from the larger one. According to legends, even the Celestials themselves couldn’t get into the smaller part. Mysterious unknown Nehzisgahr has become a refuge for the last survived mor’leh-Gharrs and an’leh-Dahrgs, but nobody knows if it is really so.

As far as the larger part of the former Ragnesis is concerned – the Celestials undertook to cure it: They planted forests, They laid river-beds, They created plants, animals and erlanies. Each of the five surviving Celestials has created one nation conforming to His own abilities and nature.

And so, one of the five nations – the Etreions – desired to have the same power as the Celestials had!.. What an unprecedented absurd audacity! It is now that nas Lahdree realized that such a desire couldn’t have resulted in anything else but a disaster. The Celestials do not forgive those who dare challenging Them, who contradict Their will or have doubts in Their might.

Well, that’s right – when They determined that Ragnesis’ nations could live without Their assistance, the Celestials have left the world to go to the Heavenly Island They had created called Allehor. But actually They have never left erlanies unattended. If somebody had any doubts in this regard in the first decades, then what happened in the Crowned valley in the year of 153 After Exodus destroyed all the possible doubts.

While the Celestial had been looking after their creatures, erlanies lived more or less peaceful life. Saying “more or less” means that, certainly conflicts couldn’t be avoided at all: Ragnesis’ nations were far too different. But it had never ended up in lengthy long-term wars that would have involved all the countries.

After the Exodus everything has changed. Many people gave way to despair after they had learned of the Celestials’ decision. And some of them started accusing foreign nations in all the misfortunes, saying those lived sinful lived which had caused the Celestial’s anger, so the creators have left Ragnesis. Such accusations started as low and faint, but soon they became open and loud.

There’s only one step from accusations to revenge (a righteous revenge!), and this step was done far too quickly, without unnecessary remorse or uncertainty. Sovereigns who ruled those times were wise, they attempted to prevent bloodshed, but alas… it was in vain. The war commenced, it had been lasting for several years involving increasingly larger amount of towns, until finally troops of all the five countries confronted each other in the Crowned valley that fateful year of 153.

That was when the creators let Their nations understand They were still watching them: that very moment when the armies were already approaching each other (accompanied with armor clanking and drums beating, with fierce shouts of commanders and roar of fighting animals) – that very moment a crimson cloud appeared above the valley. And the light that streamed from the heavens made every living thing in the Crowned valley freeze: nobody could move their hands or feet; birds froze motionless while flying and animals – while jumping; and each erlany felt fear enter his heart like a thin sharp needle! All of them heard voices commanding them from that time onwards to obey the will of their creators who want Ragnesis never to experience such wars – the wars which are able to sweep entire nations away from the earth.

What a peculiars specification that admonition included! It seems the Celestials knew too well what should have been expected from their creatures, and what should not. After they had been left without their creators, the erlanies would sooner or later burst out in quarreling with each other: there were too many contradictions, misunderstandings, small insults, and unsettled disputes between them… and their memory of those who had been killed and mutilated in the former collisions was too strong. Sooner or later a war would have started anyway, and the only thing the creators could do was just to limit the war scale – otherwise They would have had to descend to Ragnesis every ten or fifteen years.

However, the lesson they had taught erlanies back then in the Crowned valley turned out to be in vain for many of them. Oh no, nobody started such large-scale wars from that time onwards! But what was the reason for it – was it due to fear of the Celestials’ anger, or was it because of quick-witted and talented politicians who prevented the wars which were about to break out?..

And the major thing was that in the course of time erlanies started forgetting how powerful and wise the Celestials were. All of them (even the Etreions) perceived Them as some mythic creatures for helping or punishing, but who are still more occupied with Their own things.

After their advent in the Crowned valley the Celestials practically never came to Ragnesis – except for Lahrden who kept visiting His priests and taught them… well, he taught very different things. For some of those secrets it would have been better to remain secrets rather then to become available to skillful but insufficiently wise erlanies.

Nas Lahdree realized: this is really how it all happened. Everyone in Ragnesis soon guessed that the Etreions are visited by their creator. Such an event couldn’t have been concealed: the knowledge and power granted to that nation were too evident proofs. The Etreions didn’t even have to tell about this; however, they boasted and were proud about being a selected nation: sure! — other Celestials have forgotten about Their nations, while our Lahrden still remembers about us!...

Finally, their pride turned into arrogance, their power made them feel permissiveness, while the knowledge of the world structure didn’t make the enlightened nation wiser, they just excited their ambitions and thirst for power. Certainly, this hasn’t occurred straight away, but one generation after another Lahrden’s priests were becoming more power-seeking and self-confined.

Finally, this spoiled them.

Bungoore nas Lahdree was not a supreme priest. Being a younger son of just one of not too influential grandees he once was appointed at a position in the court; for a younger son this wasn’t a bad office – something like a second assistant cup-bearer. Alas, this position didn’t promise any considerable changes in his life; bluntly speaking, he would have lived up to his great age being just one of the many second assistants.

He would have, if it were not the lucky chance.

Since his childhood he was keen on ancient history; he has read all the scrolls from his father’s library and he was a habitué of bookstores in the capital. He would spend his last savings for ancient manuscripts and he dreamed about traveling into Ragnesis’ remote places.

Once a distinguished gentleman offered him… a strange thing. The position at the ambassadorial court that Bungoore was suggested to occupy instead of the one he had already taken was nothing better than the current one. But, as the distinguished gentleman clarified, there are certain nuances. Some details, so to speak.

Certainly, at first Bungoore had been checked and double-checked before he was offered the proposal. And those behind the person who made the actual offer were very much aware of his passion for ancient manuscripts. They certainly also know about Shideh who was pregnant at that time.

In general, he asked a day for reflections even though he made up his mind immediately.

So his new life began. Bungoore nas Lahdree was accompanying Ambassadors Plenipotentiaries on their travels to neighboring countries. He was brining them bowls filled with wine; he was standing behind their left shoulders during ceremonial meals; he was looking after the ambassadors’ things and clothes to make sure those were kept clean and neat.

While at his free time he was spending the generously allocated funds to buy ancient manuscripts to collect rumors and legends. He jotted down anything that more or less deserved his attention which resulted in travel notes supposedly kept for his own pleasure.

But as soon as he came back to the capital, the first thing he had to do (even before coming home and taking a bath) was to find his employer to handle his diary and to describe orally everything he had seen, heard and learnt.

That was far from spying at all – nas Lahdree was warned beforehand: nobody cared about relations between the Bushtargs’ tribal chiefs or about which recluse of the Giltaries was currently respected as the most holy one. The employers were interested in absolutely other things: ancient times.

To be more precise (as Bungoore realized after half a year of such employment) they were interested in quite particular sort of things that had been created at the beginning of times.

Stones of power.

To be even more precise – fragments of those stones. Bungoore was instructed to bring them along with him in case he found them during his trip and should a chance appear to take possession of the stones fragments without unnecessary attracting attention towards him. Should there be no such chance – that’s all right, nothing to fear of.

Well, Bungoore felt no fear at all, he was just curious!

He didn’t know too much about stones of power, but now after he had understood what exactly these gentlemen were interested in, he started secretly gathering information about those ancient artifacts.

As early as in his youth nas Lahdree knew that the universe consisted of the three aspects of being, or, if you wish, it can be perceived on the three levels: material (or physical) level, spectral level, and finally – on the level of pure primeval energy. During their lives most erlanies perceive the first aspect alone. After they die they get into the spectral world where depending on their own will power and accumulated energy they either find the exit back to the material world, or they become disincarnated forever.

And none of the erlanies can get into the very thin level, to energy aspect of being; the Celestials alone can draw pure energy from out there, and using this energy they can do whatever they want: changing the world, creating new creatures… It is the Celestials who are considered to have created the first stones of power.

The thing is that entire Ragnesis is pierced by flows of energy; it is wrapped up by a net of energy flows. “Junctions” are places where these flows intersect, and these are the places where the first stones of power have appeared. Just as stalactites appear as a result of perennial stratifications of hardened water, stones of power appear where the primeval energy has found its exit to the material aspect, and then it has hardened…

The largest of the stones are located in the castles of erlanies’ sovereigns (to be more precise – the castles have once been built around the stones!). While smaller stones at less significant “junctions” are situated either in the castles where from liegemen of the sovereigns rule over their lands, or close to such castles. These stones are not merely symbols of power; they are real power that enables ruling over the territories adjacent to the castle. This means that a person who legally owns the castle and is recognized by a local stone of power can control these lands; otherwise he will not remain on a throne a single day!

During wars it often happened that someone would split up stones of power, or they would split up on their own. Eventually a new stone would grow in the castle while fragments of the old one were stored in a treasury. The lands that belonged to this governor would go out of control, the authority had to be routinely maintained by fire and sword; the lands would become desolated and futile; eventually erlanies would leave those lands…

Some of them took fragments of power stones along with them.

And now nas Lahdree was seeking these fragments all over Ragnesis. What for?!

He hasn’t found an answer to his questions right away. Nas Lahdree was not staying in Rantayol too often, but he asked his friends who lived in the capital to carefully (very carefully) try and find out about unusual behavior of priests. He suspected that it was priests who were hiding behind his pursuits.

His friends really managed to find out something – for instance, they learned about a tower at the outskirts of Tahnnvakar-ahs-Lohrn that the priests had purchased through men of straw. The tower was strictly safeguarded, although nobody could notice guards or guarding spells until they approach right up against the tower.

Sometimes the highest priests would visit the tower. A couple of times (but friends of nas Lahdree could not assert for sure in this regard) even ahrlaeef himself came to the castle!

His friends also found out that Bungoore wasn’t the only one engaged in looking for the stones of power.

They also found out…

However, if there was anything else they found out, it remained a secret for nas Lahdree.

Soon one of his friends disappeared without a trace. Another one was found out of town allegedly killed by some beast of prey. Bungoore nas Lahdree leant about this as he once came back to the capital.

And a couple of days later he was invited by the Supreme priest, ahrlaeef Seeommeh ash Dahneahn.

Bungoore has never seen such an old erlany before. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he discovered that the ahrlaeef had taken part in the battle which took place (which actually didn’t take place) in the Crowned valley. Seeommeh ash Dahneahn was a grey-headed shortish elder with nodulous fingers and with piercing, unexpectedly tenacious gaze. This gaze seemed to be out of place on his wrinkled pitted face: the ahrlaeef’s eyes seemed to live their own individual life, and Bungoore suddenly felt fear. He realized: this erlany certainly knows what he wants and he sets up the priorities very clearly.

And nothing will stop him on his way to the goal.

— Come! — the ahrlaeef ordered, and his low but steady voice made nas Lahdree give a start. — Come closer!

He crossed the invisible line that no one was allowed to cross and appeared at the bottom of the ahrlaeef’s throne.

— Come closer!

“He is going to kill me”, — Bungoore realized; but he obeyed.

— So, you are interested in the Mystery, — told Seeommeh ash Dahneahn, the great priest, co-sovereign of Rantayol, an Etreion who had been honored by conversation with Lahrden the Celestial. — Well, you deserve it. You are the best of our stone-getters. And you are the first one who managed to go so far in your surmises. Well, here you are…

And, without changing his voice he told Bungoore that supreme priests intend to use the fragments of the power stones to draw an incredibly huge portion of energy to become equal to the Celestials.

— I will not get into details with your permission – you don’t want to know them. What you already know is enough. It’s enough to double your zeal in seeking new fragments from now on; it is also enough for your death sentence if you decide to betray us. And it is enough to raise you after our plans come true. You must understand it: we’ll need our own priests.

That was Bungoore’s first and the last meeting with the ahrlaeef. Five years have passed since then and the supreme priest has never called for nas Lahdree again – apparently he was satisfied with “his own stone-getter”. Those years it became more difficult to find new fragments, but somehow Bungoore managed to succeed.

During all this time he dreamed about taking Shideh and their daughter away from Rantayol, but he realized: should this attempt fail, prompt punishment is awaiting them: the ahrlaeef is not the one who can forgive even an attempt to betray or to defy.

And, at least, a couple of weeks ago, before his regular trip to the country of Faldorts, nas Lahdree was given a note from ash Dahneahn. It was a short note containing just two lines: “If you want so much you can take your wife along”.

For several days Bungoore had been a prey to doubts: what was it – threatening? testing? or confidence that the ahrlaeef expressed?

He couldn’t even suppose that the note was telling the truth!

And only later as he was lying under debris of the balcony and indifferently reflecting about what had happened nas Lahdree understood: the ahrlaeef really didn’t care if the stone-getter’s wife remains in Rantayol or not. Anyway Bungoore wouldn’t have enough time to betray his master even if he desired so. And after the ritual has been performed – who or what will dare put obstacles in the way of ash Dahneahn?!

But, as far as nas Lahdree understood, the ahrlaeef made a mistake! He and his associates failed to take something into consideration.

And Bungoore knew what exactly it was.

He had an insight like a blinding flash that at once turns everything upside down on its head, clarifies what was unclear, and reveals what was concealed… no, it wasn’t exactly an insight! It was as if nas Lahdree saw Rantayol by eyes of a creature who is much more powerful and mature then himself.

He saw it with Lahrden’s eyes!

Seeommeh ash Dahneahn and the priests who had joined him managed to commit what they had planned. In the tower (it was that very tower at the outskirts of Tahnnvakar-ahs-Lohrn what was so thoroughly safeguarded) they have “unsealed” the energy “juncture” using fragments of the power stones. The problem is that drawing handfuls of this pure energy was not enough – one must be able to retain this energy.

And none of erlanies is capable of doing this!

It was too late when Lahrden realized what was going on; while other Celestials stayed at Allehor that moment and were not able to help. A fountain of pure energy streamed up and then it rushed to the nearest “junctions”.

So it split Ragnesis into many pieces!

The world started collapsing; the only thing that could have saved it would be if someone “tied together” the junction and closed the broken net of energy streams.

All the five Celestials together could have done this by joint efforts and nearly loss-free, but only Lahrden was here next to the “junction”, others were far away. So well, Lahrden rushed into the very center of the disaster and managed to close the channels and to bind them into a new “junction”.

He did it at the cost of his own life.

 

 

Every night Bungoore nas Lahdree wakes up at this point. His own scream wakes him up.

But back then during the disaster he couldn’t wake up since he was not sleeping. He just regained consciousness suddenly, the vision disappeared while he was crying with a heart-rending hoarse groan – it turned out he had been crying like this for a long time and his voice was overstrained. The mere fact that he had perceived the world with Lahrden’s eyes was the strongest shock: an erlany’s mind just couldn’t comprehend everything that the Celestial could perceive, the spectrum of feelings he used to apprehend the world (all the three aspects of being simultaneously!), the way he was thinking and moving…

The way he was dying.

After nas Lahdree came to consciousness he was lying for a long time staring at the black sky and trying to avoid thinking of anything. He had never experienced the grief that crept over him… the grief and the emptiness. Along with Lahrden’s death it seemed like Bungoore’s soul was pulled out.

He even…

He even didn’t think about death of both Shideh and the child-girl who were in the collapsed house and who must be dead.

And nas Lahdree couldn’t forgive this to himself.

In his night-dream as he endures everything once again he already knows what is going to happen and how. It’s as if every night he redeems the fault that cannot be redeemed and eternally serves his sentence. However, this punishment does not really affect him: deep in his heart, deep in what’s now instead of his soul – in a fathomless black hole – he still grieves about Lahrden, about Lahrden alone.

Sleep descends at him in the middle of the night, and then after he wakes up, while lying on crumpled sheets and waiting for the daybreak, Bungoore again and again recalls what happened then.

… Somehow he managed to come to his senses so much that he realized: it was just dangerous to stay there any longer. It was strange though: actually, he didn’t care whether he will die or remain alive. But it was some kind of unknown force that made him get up, throw off a fragment of stone fencing from his foot, and have a look around…

The house was standing at the outskirts, the balcony faced the inner yard. It’s a great luck that nobody dropped in here to discover “the Etreion degenerate” and to finish him off.

“So far nobody discovered him”.

 

***

 

In the reflections of fires that danced on the house ruins nas Lahdree took a good look at this medley of stones and logs. With his dried lips he whispered two names: “Shideh” and “Kehneh” – as if he dug two graves and put a gravestone on top.

“Maybe they will go through the spiritual world and manage to come back again” – he thought.

But he didn’t believe it. After Lahrden has died… the Etreions’ destinies are not related to Ragnesis any more.

It was somebody else’s thought. But it was a correct thought; he had no doubts about it.

He bent forward and picked up a carved small post that was once crept by ivy. Now nas Lahdree intended to use it as a crutch. His left foot… Oh, now the pain that so far was silent started again!

“I need to go away!” – where to? what for? he didn’t understand it well, but this thought was driving him to go further and further.

From the yard he lagged to the pavement with risen slabs that was studded with bodies; and he limped in the direction where the gate used to be, walking through the darkness blown up by flame of lanterns and fire, cries of dying people, sounds of nursery lullaby that a thin female voice was singing.

“I must not stay in the town”, — it was somebody else’s thought again.

It was a late thought though.

Behind his back some noise, hoarse laughter, and tramping of many feet were swelling. Erlanies distraught with horror were joined into crowds and were rushing about the town like wild animals: aimlessly and senselessly, destroying everything on their way.

Now it was Bungoore who appeared on their way.

He looked around with frantic haste. Some houses along the street escaped destruction, but he simply didn’t have enough time to hide: it would take too long to turn round these pranced slabs and these bodies, especially considering his wounded foot.

Nas Lahdree turned round, leaned against the self-made crutch, and waited.

He already saw the first of massacrers running from behind the corner – dashingly jumping over the barriers, with wild-shining eyes – and that moment an explosion thundered just next to him. Nas Lahdree turned back and a couple of steps away from him he saw a rectangular; its height was that of an adult erlany. The rectangular was hovering above the pavement at a distance of about a palm size shimmering with all hues of green and making low and steady buzz.

Bungoore nas Lahdree has never been a wizard, but he knew what inter-space portals were. He also was aware of the dangers associated with using such portals, especially spontaneous ones, like the one that has just appeared next to him.

But he didn’t really have any choice though.

He ran up the best he could, threw off the carved post used as a crunch, and jumped…